Mars mission quantum leap for India: Kasturirangan

Mars mission is a quantum leap for India in terms of pushing capabilities in precision engineering and frontier research in science and has placed the nation among the few to have achieved the same, Planning Commission member and former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan said.
In his address to the 32nd Convocation of Dayalbagh Educational Institute here, which was read out in his absence due to his indisposition, Kasturirangan said the mission was inspirational for the young generation and will provide them with new information on the science of Mars.
"The Mangalyaan (Mars) mission truly signals the ability of the Indian scientific establishment to bring in varied disciplines of technology and engineering, software and hardware, precision manufacture and assembly, reliability, all needing cutting edge capabilities in an integrated manner with the highest degree of professionalism," he said.

The mission would also help us to understand the future of our planet, he added.
Stressing on the importance of team work to achieve results for any endeavour, Kasturirangan said it was the "secret of success" for India's space programmers.
"Indians scientists took up a grand challenge of building a sophisticated remote sensing system with no input of technology from outside. Each setback or failure was taken as a stepping stone for better success," he said.